After months of heated debate and stalemates, members of the California Legislature announced on July 20 that they’ve reached a budget agreement that closes the state’s more-than-$26 billion
deficit.
At a press conference following the budget negotiations, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, accompanied by
leaders of the State Senate and Assembly, remained vague about budget specifics. The legislative leaders said
they first wanted to brief their fellow legislators on the plan, which could be voted on as soon as July 23.
However, the legislators did reveal the plan includes major cuts to education, state workers’ pay, the California prison system, health care, and other services. The plan also calls for accelerated income tax withholdings and deferred funding payments, as well as a proposal to drill off the Santa Barbara County coast.
In an interview with the Sun, Brooke Armour, press secretary for Sen. Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria), estimated cuts at about $9 billion to education, $1.2 billion to corrections, $1.3 billion to Medi-Cal, and $528 million to CalWORKS. The plan, Armour said, also calls for borrowing $4.3 billion from local government agencies. However, she said, none of the figures are final until the Legislature approves the plan.
Still, legislators remained positive about the agreement.
“[The people of California] can feel good about the fact that we got through another difficult chapter in one of the most difficult times in California history,” Pro-tem President Sen. Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said during the press conference.
Minority leader and Republican Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo) expressed his equally positive thoughts on the budget in a release to the media on July 21.
“This compromise will allow us to close the deficit without increasing taxes on hard-working Californians,” Blakeslee said in the release. “Going forward, it takes important steps to reform government that will save our state money now and in the future. Passing this proposal is essential to achieving the savings we need to get California back on track.”
This article appears in Jul 23-30, 2009.